Transcript Document
Billboard Text Amendment
Joint City-County Planning Committee February 4, 2009 Prepared by the Durham City-County Planning Department
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UDO Sign Ordinance Sec. 11.1.1, Purpose
Maintain and enhance the aesthetic environment, and the community’s ability to attract sources of economic development and growth Eliminate physical and visual clutter Improve pedestrian and traffic safety Minimize possible adverse effects of signs on nearby public and private property
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Billboards in Durham
Billboards are “off-premise” signs In the 1980’s and 90’s, Durham determined that billboards are aesthetically detrimental
Prohibited new billboards Required removal of many existing billboards under a six year “amortization” period
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Billboards in Durham
The billboards that remain are protected under the Federal Highway Beautification Act
Located on Interstate or federal-aid highways We would have to pay “just compensation” for their removal – value of property plus lost revenues
They are “nonconforming”
Legal when established but now prohibited
The goal for any nonconforming use or structure is eventual removal
In the meantime, it cannot be expanded or enlarged
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Nonconforming Billboard Restrictions
May not be enlarged, relocated, or improved through substantially different materials May not add lighting; existing lighting may not be increased Must be removed if repair or damage exceeds 25% of value
Lesser of declared value when permitted or replacement value
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Nonconforming Billboards: Limited Life Span Expected
They are removed due to:
Highway Construction (Compensation by state if no relocation) Property Owner Decisions (Billboards lease space on private property) State Permit Revocations Maintenance Over 25% of Value Acts of God NCDOT, City Staff
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Durham Billboard Numbers
Year 2000 2008 2010 Number 101 billboards 89 billboards (46 owned by Fairway) Estimate removal of 8 billboards due to East End Connector ROW acquisitions (all owned by Fairway)
NCDOT, City Staff, Fairway Web Site
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National Rate of Attrition
National average rate of attrition for nonconforming billboards appears to be 1.5-2% per year
11% have been removed in Durham since 2000, right at the national average
With 8 removed in 2010, we will exceed the national average
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Additional Removals Pending
Also anticipate removals for other projects listed in DCHC MPO’s 2030 (adopted) and 2035 (proposed) Long Range Transportation Plans
Alston Avenue widening (2011) 1-2 likely removed Others determined as project designs are completed and ROW acquisition begins City Staff
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Digital Billboards
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Digital Billboards
Billboard Revenues
Digital Signs are Lucrative Revenue from standard signs = $1,000 to $2,000 per month ($12-24,000 per year) Revenue from digital signs = $14,000 per month ($168,000 per year)
7-14 times the revenue for standard signs
12 digital signs = $2,016,000 per year Sign technology costs $200,000 to $500,000 per sign
Inc. Magazine
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Tax Revenues
Billboards are taxed as personal property For instance, Fairway paid $2,605.60 to Durham County in 2008 Property taxes may rise for digital billboards, but would still not generate significant revenue
Durham County tax records for Fairway Outdoor Advertising, Naegele Outdoor Advertising, and MCC Outdoor LLC
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Public Service Announcements
Potentially Unconstitutional First amendment rights can be violated by sign regulations that affect the content of a sign’s message.
Such regulations “should therefore be avoided.”
SRF Consulting Group, Inc. for City of Minnetonka (2007)
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Public Service Announcements
Also…
Difficult to manage
Lost in the clutter
Average 7 advertisers per sign per minute
Construed as public endorsement of inappropriate advertising
Alcohol and sexually suggestive material
Make billboard removal harder
“Participating in the vice”
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Public Service Announcements
Have been used to assist in emergencies (Minneapolis bridge collapse) and crime-stopping
But cities are realizing they must balance PSA’s against other concerns
A City Council member in Mobile, AL proposed a moratorium for safety reasons despite a successful crime-stopping there
The Debate Over Digital Billboards: Can New Technology Inform Drivers Without Distracting Them?
, Birdsall, ITE (Institute of Traffic Engineers) Journal, April 2008
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Other Legal Concerns
Liability for accidents
If billboards are allowed knowing that national safety studies are pending
Uncertainty about relevance of local “nonconforming” status
Is it really legal under state and federal law to relocate Durham’s billboards or convert them to digital?
Controversy nationwide about whether digital billboards are legal under the federal Highway Beautification Act
How will the new federal administration interpret the Act and its federal/state agreements?
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Other Considerations
Effects on property values
Effects on nearby households and businesses
Enormous compensation costs if signs are altered, moved, or removed
For highway construction If found to be unsafe Scenic America
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Tourism/Economic Development
“Billboards contribute a miniscule amount to our economic well-being, but they impose a high cost. They detract from Colorado’s attractiveness to tourists and from the pleasant surroundings for our residents.”
The Honorable Richard Lamm, former Governor of Colorado
“The way a community looks affects how both residents and visitors feel about it. An attractive community has a better chance at industry, including tourism.”
Mississippi Research and Development Center
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Tourism/Economic Development
Billboards can be considered both a cause and a symptom of urban blight Billboard control is good for tourism
Maine, Vermont, Hawaii, and Alaska prohibit billboards 50% increase in Vermont tourism revenues
Billboard control is good for business
Total sales rise when billboards are controlled Raleigh, Williamsburg, and Houston studies Scenic America
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Aesthetic Concerns
Brightest objects in the landscape
Become dominant visual element and overwhelm fundamental character
Distract from other visual/scenic qualities
Clash with historic or important architectural elements, even at great distances
Scenic America
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How bright is a digital billboard?
Sunlight is measured at 6,500 nits During the daytime, a digital sign can be set at over 10,000 nits
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found digital billboards to be 10X brighter than the surrounding area
Scenic America
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Environmental Considerations
One digital billboard consumes 397,486 kWh/year
The carbon footprint of one digital billboard = 49 traditional billboards or 13.39 homes
One digital billboard = 108.41 tons/year of carbon dioxide
Scenic America One standard size digital billboard contains 449,280 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) *
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Safety – Driver Inattention
Driver inattention causes 22.7 percent of accidents.
More than any other factor - vehicle speed, alcohol impairment, perceptual errors, decision errors, incapacitation, other
Driver Inattention is a Major Factor in Serious Traffic Crashes
, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration/Virginia Tech Transportation Institute(2001) Numerous studies suggest that attentional/distraction problems are a major contributory factor to accidents.
Cognitive overload – confusion, inadequate time to process Cognitive underload (long, boring trips) – drivers stop paying attention to the road and are easily distracted
External-to-Vehicle Driver Distraction
, Wallace, Scottish Executive Social Research (2003)
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Safety – Length of Distraction
Anything that distracts the driver from the forward roadway for more than two seconds significantly increases the chances of crashes and near crashes.
23% of crashes and near-crashes in metropolitan environments are attributable to eyes off the forward roadway greater than two seconds .
Nearly 80% of the crashes and 65% of near crashes were caused by distractions that made the driver look away for up to three seconds .
Scenic America, citing
100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study
, USDOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Safety – Outside Distractions
29.4 percent of distraction-related crashes were caused by an outside person, object or event.
Greatest source of distraction among the thirteen sources studied
The Role of Driver Distraction in Traffic Crashes
, Stutts et al., North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (2001)
External distractions are likely under-reported because they are unconscious or because drivers are reluctant to admit that distraction contributed to the accident.
External-to-Vehicle Driver Distraction
, Wallace, Scottish Executive Social Research (2003)
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Safety – Billboards
“
Roadside advertising billboards are designed by their very nature to attract attention, but the related potential threat to road safety is not acknowledged by the industry.” “Prudence should be exercised when authorizing or placing roadside advertising.”
Driven to Distraction: Determining the Effects of Roadside Advertising on Driver Attention
, Young & Mahfoud (2008)
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Safety – Digital Billboards
Studies indicate that dynamic billboards tend to distract drivers to a greater degree than standard billboards.
“Zeigarnik effect” – a driver may be motivated, or even compelled, to watch for changes.
Local Regulation of Dynamic Displays: Bridging Research, Planning Policy, and Law,
Baker and Wolpert (2008)
“It is a given that a billboard can constitute a traffic hazard. It follows that EMCs [Electronic Message Centers], which provide more visual stimuli than traditional signs, logically will be more distracting and more hazardous.”
Naser Jewelers, Inc. v. City of Concord
, N.H. (1 st Cir. 2008)
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Safety – Digital Billboards
Brightest object in the driver’s field of vision, especially at night
Causes inadvertent, instinctual glances
New images every 8 seconds cause lingering looks to see what’s next
Complex messages often take 5 seconds to comprehend
Scenic America
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Safety – Digital Billboards
Wisconsin DOT – Analyzed crash rates on I-94 after installation of a variable message sign at adjacent Milwaukee County Stadium
Eastbound lanes - 36 percent crash increase Westbound lanes - 21 percent crash increase
Conclusion: The variable message sign had a negative effect on traffic safety, notably increasing the rate of sideswipe crashes.
Orientation of sign toward eastbound lanes accounted for the higher crash increases.
Research Review of Potential Safety Effects of Electronic Billboards on Driver Attention and Distraction,
FHWA (2001)
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Industry Safety Studies
Two studies are cited by the billboard industry as establishing that digital billboards are safe
A Study of the Relationship Between Digital Billboards and Traffic Safety
, Tantala Associates, for the Foundation for Outdoor Advertising Research and Education (FOARE) (2007)
Driving Performance and Digital Billboards
, Lee, McElheny and Gibbons, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, for FOARE (2007)
The conclusions, however, are not fully supported within the studies.
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The Wachtel Report
Also…the State of Maryland Commissioned an independent assessment of the studies. Conclusion:
“Having completed this peer review, it is our opinion that acceptance of these reports is inappropriate and unsupported by scientific data, and that ordinance or code changes based on their findings is ill advised.”
A Critical, Comprehensive Review of Two Studies Recently Released by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America
, The Veridian Group, Inc., for Maryland State Highway Administration (2007)
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Safety – Other Factors
Route Familiarity: With traditional signs, distraction decreases with familiarity. Digital signs, however, are always new. Disability Glare/Discomfort Glare Driver Age and Experience: Older or inexperienced drivers, who have less attention to spare, could be placed at even greater risk by digital billboards.
SRF Consulting Group, Inc. for City of Minnetonka (2007)
Research Review of Potential Safety Effects of Electronic Billboards on Driver Attention and Distraction
, FHWA (2001)
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Safety – Bottom Line
Overall, the literature identifies a relationship between driver distraction and electronic outdoor advertising devices.
In the interest of promoting public safety, electronic signs should be viewed as a form of driver distraction and a public safety issue.
Studies conducted by FHWA and others cite the need for further research.
SRF Consulting Group, Inc. for City of Minnetonka (2007)
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Pending Studies
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is planning research.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is sponsoring preliminary research leading to future investigations.
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is conducting a human-factors workshop and will manage AASHTO research.
Scenic America
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AAA Opinion
“ Driver distraction has been acknowledged as a contributor to accidents. The question remains, how significant of a distraction are digital billboards to motorists and what should be done about it? The topic deserves more research and I am pleased that FHWA is doing it.”
Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, quoted in
The Debate Over Digital Billboards: Can New Technology Inform Drivers Without Distracting Them?
, Birdsall, ITE Journal, April 2008
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Other Triangle Cities
Chapel Hill
Prohibits all billboards
Cary
Prohibits all billboards
Morrisville
Prohibits all billboards
Raleigh
Prohibits electronic billboards Standard billboards only in I with stringent restrictions Most billboards removed in 1990’s
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California
Oakland, May 2008 - Recurrent digital billboard malfunction
Brightness impairs driver vision Caltrans inundated with complaints
Los Angeles, December 2008 – 3-month billboard moratorium, can be extended 3 months
Digital billboards have angered residents of many neighborhoods
State Legislature, January 2009 - Moratorium bill introduced
No new or digital converted billboards for 2 years Safety concerns and driver distraction are the crux Los Angeles Times, Curbed LA, San Francisco Chronicle
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On-Premise Signs in Durham
Digital on-premise signs are allowed in the Downtown Tier with a favorable recommendation by DDRT and Planning Director approval.
Otherwise, changeable copy is allowed only in limited situations and can change only 8 times per day (except time and temperature).
Digital billboards could open the door for digital on-premise signs.
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Planning Department Research Assessment
The current ordinance provisions protect the long-term health, safety, and welfare of Durham citizens.
NHWA, AASHTO, and NAS targeted safety studies are pending and waiting for the outcomes is advisable.
Any proposed change should be fully assessed by independent technical and legal experts given the regulatory complexity and safety and liability ramifications.
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Closing
Thank you for your attention.
Questions?
Staff Contact: Julia Mullen, Planner 560-4137 ext. 255, [email protected]
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